A Drawing as a Note

In 1958 Picasso bought the Vauvenargues Castle (the Château of Vauvenargues) at the bottom of the Mont Sainte-Victoire and kept it for life. He was proud to be living in the vicinity of Paul Cézanne’s favourite motif. There is a story according to which Picasso informed his art dealer that he had bought Mont Sainte-Victoire. When the art dealer asked him which one, thinking of Cézanne’s paintings, Picasso answered: The original! He also bought 1000 ha of mountain land and could have bragged about his possession. None of the 44 oil paintings or 43 aquarelle paintings was so valuable! The mountain could have been bought when it became an object – in reality and in a painting – when its market value was estimated. From that moment, it could have been used and managed as any other object.